Clarence Hill

IRVING, Texas—Jason Witten is mad at himself and frustrated with his poor play this season. He has six dropped passes, been penalized four times and has been abysmal as a blocker at times.

It would be easy to explain his struggles on the lacerated spleen he suffered in the preseason opener. He wasn’t cleared until one day before the season opener. But Witten says he's healthy and the spleen has nothing to do with his hands.

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It has been suggested age may be a factor in Witten’s struggles. But this isn't a case of not being able to get open or create separation. Witten, a seven-time Pro Bowl player is dropping passes he normally makes.

Clearly, Witten is pressing. The situation is mental now. But the bottom line is he needs to get it fixed and get back to being the old Witten because right now he is hurting the team with his play.

“I think every player, regardless of the sport, they go through adversity at some point. Obviously this is it for me,” Witten said. “It’s a point in your career, everything’s going to be asked—is he slowing down, is he not being able to handle it, all that stuff. In my mind, it’s ridiculous.

“I wish there was a way I could say I wasn’t feeling good or I’m pressing or anything like that. It’s not that,” he added. “That would be the easy way to really get out of it, but bottom line is, you’ve got to get it fixed. Unacceptable.”

STALLED CARR: Brandon Carr was given a five-year, $50.1 million contract in the offseason to be the team’s shutdown cornerback. But the injuries at safety forced the Cowboys to move him there against the Buccaneers and maybe longer. He replaced Gerald Sensabaugh on passing downs against the Bucs. Sensabaugh was out with a calf strain. Now strong safety Barry Church is on injured reserve with a torn Achilles'. Carr has the size and ball skills to make the move, allowing the Cowboys to use Mike Jenkins and Morris Claiborne at cornerback on obvious passing downs.